Today the European Commission made a technology choice in its Connected
Car Legislation that, in the view of the GSMA, undercuts its own 5G
Action Plan and jeopardises its digital competitiveness; the Commission
has chosen to ignore technological innovation and choice, and instead
stick with an outdated Wi-Fi (802.11p) technology for connected
vehicles. The GSMA urges EU Member States and the European Parliament to
reject the proposed rules that favour Wi-Fi technology to connect cars
across Europe, and instead maintain flexibility to encourage the
deployment of more advanced technologies, like Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)
connectivity.

The EU’s 5G Action Plan calls for all “major terrestrial transport paths
[to] have uninterrupted 5G coverage by 2025.” Rather than incentivising
this outcome, the new legislation – the Delegated Act on Cooperative
Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) – deals a blow to 5G rollout plans
across Europe. As C-V2X is a key building block for future 5G networks,
and as connected cars are one of the most important 5G use cases, this
decision to prioritise 802.11p will hinder 5G deployment in Europe.

The GSMA fully supports the purported aim of this legislation to make
roads in Europe safer and smarter to bring down the number of road
fatalities. However, the Commission’s plan to double down on an ageing
technology for C-ITS does a disservice to European drivers and industry.
The Delegated Act on C-ITS fails to take into account more recent
technological innovation. C-V2X provides more security, range and
quality of service than 802.11p. It is, therefore, no surprise that
C-V2X is quickly becoming the worldwide standard for communication
between vehicles and with roadside infrastructure. In fact, North
America and China are already moving forward with C-V2X, which will
allow them to move to connected driving more quickly, cheaply and safely
than Europe.

Although the Delegated Act on C-ITS contains a review clause to allow
for new technology to be recognised, its decision to start with already
outdated technology as the standard and then demanding interoperability
will lock out C-V2X from Europe for the foreseeable future, while
wasting billions of euros in taxpayers’ money on roadside infrastructure
investments.

The GSMA therefore urges EU Member States and the European Parliament to
reject the Delegated Act on C-ITS. “This piece of legislation relies on
a biased view of technology and impedes innovation,” states Afke
Schaart, VP & Head of Europe of the GSMA. “If the EU stays on this road,
it will isolate itself further in the global 5G race and severely harm
5G investment in Europe.”

-ENDS-

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting
more than 750 operators and nearly 400 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies,
equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organizations in
adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading
MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well
as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com.
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